Ordered a Dillon!

[jr_roosa]

Winter pistol season is coming up, and I spent more time reloading than shooting last year.

I ordered a 550B this afternoon, and spent the rest of the evening waiting on the porch for the BWT to come and drop it off. Dang...nothing yet!

I always order new toys right before a holiday weekend too. Hopefully, I'll have it by the end of next week. FedEx ground isn't bad coming up from Phoenix.

I'm going to run it with the RCBS dies that I have on hand for now. I couldn't see spending another $60 if I can make what I have work.

I got the strong mount, and I'm going to mount that to some hardwood that I can clamp to the bench...I'm not quite ready to give up that much bench space permanently, and when it gets cold in the Garage, I might want to set it up inside.

I also got the roller handle. It's set up for .45ACP so I got a funnel for .30-06 and a caliber change for .38 special. I got a cover too since my garage gets a little dusty.

I didn't bother with more primer tubes yet, and I'll probably get the bullet tray and the little hanger/bin for brass in the next order.

What other fun gadgets will I be needing? I couldn't really think of anything. Maybe an extra toolhead or two? It might be easy enough just to swap dies.

Suggestions?

-J.

 

[jr_roosa]

Ooh! Found the online manual. That will burn some waiting time.

-J.

 

[mahansm]

Extra toolheads and toolhead stands.

You might think about sinking some threaded inserts into your bench so you can bolt down and remove the press easily. Grainger and McMaster-Carr have them at reasonable prices.
1/4-20 works well with strong mounts. I swap out a 550 and a square deal on the same spot on my bench. Unfortunately, the strong mounts don't have quite the same footprint, so there are 6 inserts. I also sunk some for the vise, the case trimmer (actually uses the strong mount footprint), and the 600 Super Swage.

Extra primer tubes are nice, as you don't have to interrupt your flow to dump another box, flip them, and fill the tube. Even with one tube you can load up 200 at each break (load tube, fill tube on press, reload tube).

The tool rack and allen key set are very nice and make adjustments and maintenance go much more quickly. A few of the 1" lock rings make it easier to mount and adjust dies in the close quarters of the toolhead as well as fitting the Dillon wrench in the toolkit.

 

[jr_roosa]

You might think about sinking some threaded inserts into your bench so you can bolt down and remove the press easily. Grainger and McMaster-Carr have them at reasonable prices.

That sounds brilliant! I will definitely look into that.

I've got a bag full of the Forster lock rings. Hopefully they will work.

-J.

 

[Hondo 60]

I haven't bothered with the tool stands, but the extra tool heads are almost mandatory.
I currently have 10 of 'em & actually need one more.

I tried one set of Dillon dies & eh, they're good, but I don't think they make better ammo than any other brand of dies.

Along with tool heads you'll also want powder dies.
That way you can setup a tool head & never have to swap any dies again.

Congrats on the blue koolaid - I bought mine almost 3 years ago now & would do it again in a heart beat.

 

[Eldraque]

I would recommend the toolholder with bench wrench. Also unless you have lots of extra time you will want a toolhead for each caliber.

I dont have the bullet tray, but i wish i did

Good luck and have fun! You will enjoy it.

 

[MikeS.]

Equipping a Dillon press is as much fun as equipping an AR.

As the others have said extra primer tubes and tool heads with powder dies. Extra nice if you can dedicate a powder dispenser.

 

[codefour]

I'm not a big Dillon fan. Yes, Mike Dillon makes some great stuff. But all the connecting n actuating rods kind of bothered me. I have a RCBS Pro 2000 (great iron press not aluminum). I don't know why Dillon and Hornady make their presses out of aluminum..?

But, the one thing Dillon got right was his dies..!! The large, open radiused mouth sizing die, the removable insert seat n crimp dies are ingenious. You do NOT lose your settings. The carbide is top notch as well.

So, yes it is worth it to buy Dillon die sets. Their carbide rifle sizing dies are expensive but well worth it if you are going to size numerous cases.

I'm not Dillon bashing. I learned to load on a 550B and 650. But I like Dillon dies....

 

[Rule3]

delete

 

[dogrunner]

Had mine for well over twenty years. Over time it's received the various upgrades & for the most part it's a "B" model now. Worn out one powder dispenser.........Dillion replaced that for nothing. Gotta go with the comment about dies tho..........Dillon's ARE top notch. Yeah, I've made do with RCBS/Lyman/Redding/Lee........and they all work, some a bit better than other makes but NONE as well as the Dillon product, they are damn well worth your money!

 

[frankmako]

got my first 550 in 1985/84. got my second in 2005/06. both are still going strong. they are hard to beat.

 

[snapshot762]

I recently decided to start reloading, learned a bit from my dad and uncle when i was WAY younger. After a lot of research i decided to go with a Dillon 550b. A big investment to be sure but something i have wanted to do so for a few years now.

My press and about everything i need to start reloading 9mm (minus components) arrived a couple of months ago but due to recent living arrangements i can't set my press up quite yet. Doing all the research i can in the meantime and i have to say this place is a great place to do it.

 

[jr_roosa]

arrived a couple of months ago but due to recent living arrangements i can't set my press up quite yet

Wow, I would go into a full ADD/OCD seizure if I had a new toy like that in a box for months on end. I would figure out a way to run it out of my car trunk or something.

When I moved last year, my reloading bench was one of the first things I set up, to...uhh...unpack those boxes so we wouldn't be tripping over them or anything.

You, sir, are a better man than me!

They haven't even sent me the order verification e-mail, and I'm still watching the FedEx ground truck every time it drives through the neighborhood like I'm 6 years old waiting for something I ordered off a cereal box.

-J.

 

[snapshot762]

Wow, I would go into a full ADD/OCD seizure if I had a new toy like that in a box for months on end. I would figure out a way to run it out of my car trunk or something.

When I moved last year, my reloading bench was one of the first things I set up, to...uhh...unpack those boxes so we wouldn't be tripping over them or anything.

You, sir, are a better man than me!

They haven't even sent me the order verification e-mail, and I'm still watching the FedEx ground truck every time it drives through the neighborhood like I'm 6 years old waiting for something I ordered off a cereal box.

-J.

LOL! Well, the girlfriend and her daughters have been pretty accomidating to all my guns and "guy stuff" but don't think that i'm not itching to get it set up! Still working on appropriating a dedicated reloading room and i'm probably gonna have to do it soon because i have at least two females that want me to teach them to shoot!

 

[BYJO4]

Congrats and hope you really enjoy it..

 

[rehorne]

drank the Blue Koolade huh.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

you're in good company!

 

[jr_roosa]

drank the Blue Koolade huh.

I used to live down the street from them. I would take my kid over there all the time when we needed one gadget or another and she would really get a kick out of the big blue machines. She's excited too.

The big selling point for me is that some of the top highpower competitors and all of the local guys load at least their 200yd and 300yd ammo on Dillons, and some use it for their 600yd ammo with the funnel and an auto powder dispenser. Any press that lets me do high volume pistol reloading, and saves me time making highpower ammo is hard to beat. I suppose that the other brands can do it too, but I like Dillon's track record.

-J.

 

[FastCut]

jr, Good deal...I started on a RCBS for rifle mostly and was happy for years. Single stage provides good fundamentals and lots of knowledge. I decided on a Dillon 550 as well but mine has all the goodies except for the roller handle. I like the ball and I am so used to it from my RCBS that I wouldn't want to change. I still use my single stage for trimming brass using my Dillon 1200b and using a C4HD primer pocket swager tool for military brass. I have both my presses mounted on wood sleds which allow me to easily move them around and even bring them inside from garage to do things like popping primers out with universal de-capping die when it gets cold. The wooden sled actually provides other ways to mount "cups" to store your primer tubes or other tools. One thing I think you need is a Skylight press mounted light. I recently purchased one of these with the battery pack and love it. The light fits right into your die plate and shines down to let you really see whats going on. I used to use a flash light rigged up with thick Copper wire and it works but was a bit of a pain sometimes. Congrats again on purchase and I agree with most folks purchase Dillon dies when you get the cash because the lead in radius on bottom of die does make things easier in the long run.